5.  The applicant was born in 1969 and lives in Podgorica.
6.  On 8 May 2001 the applicant murdered X and immediately thereafter left the country.
7.  On 6 March 2002 the applicant, in his absence, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty years in prison.
8.  On 27 June 2002 the applicant was arrested in Spain pursuant to an international arrest warrant (potjernica), and placed in custody.
9.  On 14 May 2003 he was extradited to Montenegro.
10.  On 3 February 2004 the criminal proceedings against the applicant were re-opened (ponavljanje krivičnog postupka).
11.  On 10 April 2009 the High Court (Viši sud) in Podgorica found the applicant guilty, sentenced him to fourteen years’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay the costs of the proceedings as well as court fees (na osnovu sudskog paušala).
12.  On 29 January 2010 the Court of Appeal (Apelacioni sud) in Podgorica quashed the judgment and ordered a retrial.
13.  On 4 October 2010 the High Court found the applicant guilty, sentenced him to fourteen years’ imprisonment, and ordered him to pay the costs of the proceedings and court fees.
14.  On 21 March 2011 the Court of Appeal upheld that decision. It would appear that on 26 April 2011 the decision was served on the applicant and he was transferred to prison.
15.  On 19 September 2011 the Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud) in Podgorica dismissed an appeal on points of law (zahtjev za ispitivanje zakonitosti pravosnažne presude) lodged by the applicant.
16.  On 25 November 2011 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal complaining, in substance, about the reasoning of the courts, their assessment of the evidence and their interpretation of the law. He also complained of various irregularities in dealing with his request for review and his action for fair redress (see paragraphs 17-22 below). On 2 November 2012 the applicant withdrew his constitutional appeal and the Constitutional Court terminated the proceedings (obustavio je postupak) on 27 November 2012.
17.  On 10 November 2009 the applicant lodged a request for review (kontrolni zahtjev), complaining that the Court of Appeal had not ruled on his appeal within three months (see paragraph 75 below).
18.  On 11 January 2010, having received no reply to the previous request, the applicant appealed to the Supreme Court.
19.  On 7 July 2010, having still received no reply, the applicant lodged an action for fair redress (tužba za pravično zadovoljenje).
20.  On 29 September 2010 the Supreme Court rejected the action on the grounds that the applicant had not lodged a request for review.
21.  On 10 May 2011 the applicant lodged another action for fair redress.
22.  On 17 June 2011 the Supreme Court ruled that the criminal proceedings had been unreasonably long. Considering that the applicant’s detention required urgent proceedings, but also that it had been a complex case and that the applicant had contributed to the overall length of the proceedings, the court awarded him 2,000 euros (EUR). The applicant’s proposal that that decision be published was refused as the court did not consider it to be a “serious breach” of the right to a trial within a reasonable time. It was also noted that the applicant had indeed submitted a request for review beforehand, which had not been considered, and that his appeal in that regard had never been forwarded by the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.
23.  On 25 July 2011 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal against that decision, complaining, in particular, about the Supreme Court’s rejection of his first action for fair redress, the conclusion that he had contributed to the overall length of the criminal proceedings, and the amount awarded. He also requested that the Supreme Court’s decision be published. In March 2013, when the Government submitted their observations, the constitutional appeal was still pending.
24.  On 6 March 2002 the High Court issued a detention order against the applicant in his absence.
25.  On 20 April 2004, after the applicant was extradited to Montenegro, the High Court issued a new detention order for fear that he might abscond, especially in view of the fact that he had already been in hiding and had been arrested pursuant to an international warrant.
26.  The detention was further extended by the High Court on 1 June 2004, 26 September 2005, 8 September 2008, 23 December 2008, 27 February 2009 and 10 April 2009. The decisions to extend the detention appear to have been subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal.
27.  The decision rendered on 8 September 2008 also took account of the gravity of the criminal offence of which the applicant was accused and the sentence that might be imposed on him.
28.  In its decision of 10 April 2009 the High Court took account in addition of the applicant’s personal circumstances, considering that his being unemployed and single increased the risk that he might flee. The decision specified that the applicant’s detention could last until a final decision was issued in the criminal proceedings or, at the most, until he had served fourteen years in prison.
29.  The authorities did not consider in any of those decisions the possibility of ensuring the applicant’s presence at trial by the use of other preventive measures.
30.  On 14 January 2010 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal complaining about the length of his detention. It would appear that he amended this appeal on three occasions thereafter, 1 March 2010, 8 December 2010 and 9 December 2010, enclosing some of the relevant documents, such as his request for review, the subsequent appeal, the action for fair redress, as well as the Supreme Court’s decision thereon. In March 2013, when the Government submitted their observations, the constitutional appeal was still pending.
31.  It would appear that the applicant remained in detention until his conviction became final by the Court of Appeal’s ruling in 2011, after which he was transferred to prison to serve his sentence.
32.  The parties’ submissions in this regard differed.
33.  The applicant maintained, in particular, that the cell in which he had been detained had been overcrowded, and that he had lacked drinking water and daily exercise.
34.  More specifically, the cell had measured 25 m2 and had housed fourteen detainees, sleeping on three-tier beds. The cell had also contained closets, a sanitary facility and a dining table. Apparently, the detainees were given a television set in 2007.
35.  Furthermore, between 2003 and 2007, especially in the summer, there was no running water during the day. The detainees, including the applicant, had to collect water in containers during the night so that there would be enough during the day, for both drinking and cleaning purposes. A well was dug in 2007, but this water was apparently not suitable for drinking as it was dirty.
36.  Lastly, until 2007 the daily walks lasted for forty minutes instead of the 120 minutes provided for by the relevant law, and were cancelled altogether on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as on rainy days. It would appear that after the prisoners’ strike in 2007 the duration of walks was increased to sixty minutes and that they were reintroduced on Thursdays. There would still appear to be no walks on Fridays. Until 2009 detainees were not allowed outdoors at all on rainy days and sometimes they would not get out of the cell for twenty days.
37.  The Government, for their part, submitted that the applicant had been detained in a cell measuring 28 m2 with four or five other persons, and only occasionally with nine other detainees. There were general shortages of water supply in the area where the prison was situated and the applicant had two thirty-minute long outdoor walks on a daily basis. They also submitted that the conditions in prison had been significantly improved after the visit of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment (“the CPT”) in 2008 (see paragraphs 114-118 below).
38.  On 14 May 2003, when he was extradited to Montenegro and remanded in custody, the applicant was examined by a prison doctor. On that occasion the applicant claimed that he had no illnesses. In December 2003 he had blood and urine tests. There is no evidence in the case file that he was suffering from any illness at the time.
39.  In March 2006 the applicant was examined at the clinical centre of Montenegro. The medical report issued at the time is mostly illegible. The legible part states that two months earlier when he was under stress, the applicant had had an abnormal pain in his chest which had not recurred, and that his blood pressure was also high at the time. The doctor recommended a cardiological examination (holter monitoring) and a check-up in three months.
40.  Between 15 August 2006 and 26 January 2007 the applicant had four blood tests, the results of which showed that at various times one or two parameters were slightly increased while the remaining parameters were either within the normal range or illegible. There is no evidence in the case file that the applicant underwent the recommended cardiological examination or check-up.
41.  In March 2011 the applicant was again examined at the clinical centre by a specialist in internal medicine (internista). The medical report issued at the time states that the applicant had been having spasms (stezanje) behind the breast bone, which had become more frequent and stronger. The prison doctor recommended holter monitoring by a cardiologist and specified that the applicant’s condition could worsen if the tests were delayed.
42.  Between 22 March and 4 April 2011 the applicant was examined by a cardiologist (holter, electrocardiogram and ergometric tests). The results showed that the applicant’s left heart chamber was slightly enlarged, with hypertrophic walls. There was also a grade I diastolic dysfunction.
43.  On various dates between February 2005 and May 2011 the applicant was examined several times by a dermatologist, a urologist, a physiatrist and a surgeon, and his abdomen and spine were x-rayed. He was prescribed the relevant treatment where needed.
44.  On 7 December 2006 the Ombudsman (Zaštitnik ljudskih prava i sloboda) lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for an assessment of the constitutionality of Article 572 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2003 (see paragraph 70 below). On 3 July 2008 the Constitutional Court terminated the proceedings (obustavio postupak) as a new Constitution had been adopted in the meantime, whereas the Ombudsman’s request related to the Constitution that was no longer in force.
45.  On 12 September 2008 several detainees, including the applicant, wrote to the President of the Supreme Court complaining about the length of their detention.
46.  It would appear that in 2008 and 2010 two amnesties were granted to prisoners who had been convicted before those dates. On 6 June 2011 the Court of First Instance (Osnovni sud) in Podgorica dismissed the applicant’s request that one of those amnesties be granted to him as well. On 30 June 2011 the High Court upheld that decision.
47.  On various dates in 2009 the applicant complained to different international organisations represented in Montenegro, as well as to the Montenegrin Ombudsman, about the length of his detention and of the criminal proceedings. Some of the organisations apparently did not reply at all and others replied that they had no competence to deal with individual cases. The Court of Appeal, in response to an enquiry by the Ombudsman, replied that all realistic measures would be undertaken to expedite the proceedings at issue, although it would be difficult because there had been an influx of urgent and complex cases.
48.  On 14 January 2010, as well as lodging a constitutional appeal in respect of the length of his detention, the applicant also applied for an assessment of the constitutionality of Article 572 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2003. On 10 May 2012 the Constitutional Court rejected (odbacuje se) the request, as the Code had ceased to be in force as of 1 September 2011 (see paragraph 76 below) and thus there was no legal ground to examine if the above-mentioned provision had been in accordance with the Constitution while it had been in force.
49.  On 22 November 2011 the applicant appears to have requested the State Prosecutor (Osnovno državno tužilaštvo) to investigate some of the employees of the Court of Appeal responsible for not having forwarded his request for review to the Supreme Court. On 21 February 2012 the Deputy State Prosecutor (zamjenik osnovnog državnog tužioca) informed the applicant that she would not pursue any criminal prosecution ex officio in this regard. The applicant could, however, take on the prosecution as a subsidiary prosecutor. There is no evidence in the case file as to whether the applicant did so.
50.  On 22 February 2012 the applicant’s sentence was reduced by six months following an amnesty (pomilovanje) granted to him by the President.
51.  On 19 August 2013 the applicant’s sentence was further reduced in view of an amnesty provided for by the new legislation (see paragraph 81 below). On 27 August 2013 that decision became final and the applicant was released.